Apps

Grab transport solutions: The go-to this Christmas season

Reliable, accessible services amid the holiday demand

Published

December 11, 2024

GadgetMatch

Christmas season as a whole is, without question, the most anticipated holiday for Filipinos. That’s where they’re at right now — in the middle of the busiest stretch of the calendar year.

December often includes countless Christmas parties and many other numerous gatherings. And as the month winds down, people then travel back to their provinces to spend the holidays with their loved ones.

According to Grab Philippines, 20% of people plan to travel with family and friends this holiday season. Furthermore, an average group size of 15 people attend Christmas and New Year gatherings.

It’s these occasions that cause a surge in the demand for transport-hailing services throughout the season. Fortunately, Grab Philippines has prepared months ahead. They have anticipated the situation so that they can vow the best service reliability and accessibility for users.

As such, Grab’s transportation solutions are a definite go-to for Filipinos this holiday season. Here are some of the ways passengers can utilize Grab’s transportation services so no matter how busy it gets, they can still just focus on celebrating Christmas with family, friends, and loved ones.

Group Rides

For those traveling to Christmas parties, reunions, and more events, Grab has optimized its transport services to maximize vehicle utilization and promote carpooling.

Family and friends going to the same destination or have drop-off points that are close to each other can leverage Group Rides. This allows passengers to coordinate schedules better and have more reliable travel times.

Of course, the Grab app will automatically map out the best possible route to ensure efficient travel time, minus the delays for each of the addresses inputted. Passengers yet to be picked up can also track the ride status in real-time.

Traveling in groups also makes rides more cost-efficient. All passengers as part of one ride will only have to share the same, singular base fare.

With these options, both Grab and the passengers are doing their part in reducing traffic congestion throughout the holiday season.

Advance Booking

Moreover, if you’re planning on flying in and out of the metro, Grab’s Advance Booking service will surely let you focus on enjoying your trips instead of stressing out on getting a ride – touting guaranteed on-time rides.

The service allows passengers to book a driver as early as seven days ahead of their trip to the airport. The reservation window is likewise flexible, allowing bookings to be changed from as early as seven days prior to as late as two hours before the scheduled ride.

Grab has specific driver-partners under Advance Booking too, so passengers are assured of on-time pick-up. In fact, a PhP 100 courtesy credit will be offered if the driver arrives late for a pre-scheduled ride.

And as preparing for departure day could definitely mean a lot of baggage, Advance Booking rides also have a 15-minute grace period implemented.

This allows drivers to accommodate minor delays too, should passengers encounter sudden inconveniences en route to their pick-up location.

Multi-Service Type Booking

Should it get really tricky for passengers to book a GrabCar, Grab has also enhanced ride reliability by increasing chances of successful ride allocation under Multi-Service Type Booking.

Users can also take advantage of this feature by selecting multiple service types in a single booking. Suppose a GrabCar Four-Seater isn’t available at the time, a Grab Six-Seater will fill in.

By expanding the pool of drivers that can be tapped for a passenger there is reduction in the passenger wait time. It also increases the allocation rate amongst Grab drivers, giving them more bookings so they can likewise spend the holiday season with smiles on their faces.

With these measures in tow for Grab’s transport offerings, the platform aims to provide convenient and reliable trips this holiday season.

Apps

Disney+ launches a TikTok-coded vertical feed called Verts

Published

March 13, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

TikTok has changed how we consume media. Everything is now vertical. Even the most established streaming services, often a bastion for traditionally horizontal content, is adopting the different format. Now, Disney+ is getting a vertical feed called Verts.

Like its contemporaries, Verts presents a continuous feed of content but tailored to show the plethora of titles from the Disney+ library. This might include the first scenes of shows or notable highlights. The hope, of course, is to direct users to the longform content.

Directly from the Verts feed, users can easily add the respective title to their watchlist or go straight to the title’s page. In turn, the feed is accessible from the homepage since it has its own tab.

According to Disney, early experiments with the feature have driven engagement to available content. Right now, the feed is mostly for clipping enticing content from shows. However, the platform will experiment further with the format for new ways to tell stories.

Though Verts surely stands for “verticals” in this case, “adverts” might fit better as its full government name. Still, it might be a useful tool if you’re figuring out what to watch for the night.

Currently, Verts is available for Disney+ subscribers in the United States. Disney also has plans to expand the feature to ESPN for sports-related content.

Apps

Google Maps is finally getting a 3D mode

The app will also have a Gemini chatbot baked inside.

Published

March 13, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Some of today’s navigation apps are living in the future. Instead of a two-dimensional map, these apps render the user’s surroundings in 3D. It’s a nifty upgrade that helps drivers more accurately visualize directions on the fly. Finally, Google Maps is getting a much-needed upgrade and will take navigation to the third dimension.

In a new update rolling out today, the new Immersive Navigation feature will bring your surroundings to life. The 3D view creates a render of the surrounding buildings, overpasses, and terrain around the car. It takes the guesswork out of navigation by showing precisely where to turn and what landmarks to look out for.

In the same vein, you can now use Street View to preview your destination before you arrive. Google Maps will also highlight your destination’s entrance, side of the street, and nearby parking.

Outside of how the map is visualized, Google Maps is also infusing its service with Gemini. The new Ask Maps feature will let you engage with the app in a conversational manner. For example, if you’re in the middle of a long drive, you can now ask Maps where the best place is to stop over and have a coffee break. Ask Maps will provide directions, a potential itinerary, and even helpful links to book a reservation ahead of time.

Now, availability for both of these features is still a bit limited. Immersive View is rolling out today to compatible devices and vehicles in the United States. Further, availability will expand over the coming months.

Meanwhile, Ask Maps is available now in the United States and India for Android and iOS. A desktop version is coming soon.

Apps

Apple Music, TikTok launch Play Full Song, a new music discovery experience

Rolling out worldwide exclusively through Apple Music

Published

March 12, 2026

GadgetMatch

Ever came across a viral 15 or 30-second music snippet on TikTok that instantly became your jam on repeat?

For years, TikTok has been a regular source of songs that have become part of our playlists. And together with Apple Music, listening to the music you discover has just gotten even easier.

That’s through Play Full Song, a new music discovery experience, which launches exclusively though Apple Music.

With the new feature, Apple Music subscribers can now enjoy full-length tracks that they discover on TikTok. That’s without ever leaving that popular streaming app.

Fans who discover a song that they love on their For You or Sound Detail page can simply tap the Play Full Song button to open up an Apple Music player and enjoy the song in its entirety.

From there, subscribers can continue listening to a personalized stream of recommended songs. That means no more need to switch apps and search separately.

The new Play Full Song experience helps music fans move seamlessly from the moment of discovery to deeper listening. It’s also designed to be instant and all within the same environment.

Moreover, users can also save their favorite songs to Your Music and add them directly to their Apple Music playlists.

Built using Apple’s MusicKit, full-length song playback takes place on Apple Music. This way, streams are paid within the Apple Music service, supporting artists and rights holders while giving fans a smooth, uninterrupted experience.

Listening Party also launched

The feature builds on the success of TikTok’s Add to Music App. This was previously launched to help artists and fans convert discovery on TikTok to a playlist save in Apple Music and other streaming services.

To cap the announcement, TikTok and Apple Music are also introducing Listening Party. This new feature is designed to bring artists and fans together around music.

It creates a shared environment where fans can listen to songs from their favorite artists in real time, interact with each her, and engage directly with the artist during the session.